Medical center opening June 3, despite snag with insurer

A rendering of the medical office/outpatient clinic building that St. Clair Hospital will open in June in Peters Township

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St. Clair Hospital will open an outpatient center in Peters Township June 3 – but not to everyone at first.

The hospital announced Wednesday that a holdup in discussions over a provider agreement will initially prevent Highmark subscribers from receiving diagnostic services at the center, which is near completion on the southbound side of Washington Road (Route 19).

Patients seeing physicians there will not be affected.

St. Clair, based in Mt. Lebanon, said in a news release it was notified by Highmark that the insurer will not “credential” the Peters center until the hospital signs a long-term contract extension of that agreement.

The statement added that the two sides have discussed an extension since late February. St. Clair said it has not threatened to end its contract with Highmark.

The hospital also said that Highmark subscribers can use its four other diagnostic sites, which are credentialed and will provide full insurance coverage. They are: the main hospital, on Bower Hill Road, Mt. Lebanon; Village Square Outpatient Center and St. Clair Hospital MRI Center, both in Bethel Park; and the Outpatient Lab in Chartiers Valley Shopping Center, Bridgeville.

Patients with Highmark coverage who have scheduled procedures or tests at the hospital can call 412-942-3631 for more information.

Nearly 3 1/2 years after purchasing the three-acre site, St. Clair will unveil the center. It is a two-story building with 40,000 square feet that will feature diagnostic services such as X-ray, CT and MRI on the first level, and house offices for primary care physicians and specialists on the second.

There is a green space between the building and Route 19; a parking lot for 180 vehicles is in the back.

A home improvement center and a dance studio once stood on the site, which is slightly south of McMurray Road.